Techniques for Coating Pipes
AssigneeAcergy France SAS
InventorPhilippe Hoffmann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus are for coating a field joint of a pipeline. The method includes positioning a mould tool around the field joint to define a mould cavity, positioning an insert to lie within the mould cavity, and injecting plastics material into the mould cavity to embed the insert in the plastics material. The apparatus has a mould tool positionable around the field joint to define a mould cavity, and an insert positionable within the mould cavity to be embedded in plastics material injected into the mould cavity. Use of an insert in this way reduces the volume of the molten thermoplastics material required to coat the field joint, thereby increasing the interface area of the melt relative to its volume, to the benefit of cooling time.
Claims20
1-46. (canceled)
A method of coating a field joint of a pipeline, comprising:
- positioning a mould tool around the field joint to define a mould cavity;
- positioning an insert to lie within the mould cavity;
- and
- injecting plastics material into the mould cavity to embed the insert in the plastics material.
An apparatus for coating a field joint of a pipeline, comprising a mould tool positionable around the field joint to define a mould cavity, and an insert positionable within the mould cavity to be embedded in plastics material injected into the mould cavity.
A pipeline production facility comprising:
- an apparatus for coating a field joint of a pipeline, comprising a mould tool positionable around the field joint to define a mould cavity, and an insert positionable within the mould cavity to be embedded in plastics material injected into the mould cavity;
- wherein the insert is positioned on a field joint at an upstream station and the mould tool is positioned around a field joint at a downstream station with respect to a direction of movement of a pipeline being produced by the facility.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.